Saturday, June 20, 2009

Some great players have only been turned mortal because of injuries. It's plagued players like Grant Hill, Gilbert Arenas and Tracy McGrady. Each one of them are All-Stars in terms of talent; but injuries have slowed them down. Grant Hill is onto something though. He joined the Suns.

The Suns are known for their excellent training staff. Guys that play for them rarely have injuries (how Steve Nash injuries can you remember?). Grant Hill went from missing entire seasons, to playing an entire 82 game season with the Suns. You can't tell me that's not something the Suns training staff did right.

I also remember when Shaq was traded to the Suns. He had tons of problems with injuries in Miami. The Suns gave him specific exercises to strengthen areas where he was weak (as Shaq worded it, his gluteus maximus). Now, Shaq has once again found the fountain of youth and he had a great season; despite the Suns struggles.

So Shaq and Grant Hill's success without injury in Phoenix got me thinking: could playing for the Suns be the key to fountain of youth?

I think it's the closest thing the NBA has to a fountain of youth. Every player I can think of that's gone there has improved their stability throughout the season. If other guys can do it, why not trade guys like McGrady and Arenas there to try it out?

Call it a test program, Stern. If healthy, those guys could make the current Suns roster a title winning team. That's the difference that health for these stars could make.

I'm not saying the Suns have the key to making it so players never get injured again. All I'm saying is that they do a great job at keeping their guys healthy. Other teams need to steal their training methods. If teams like the Rockets and Wizards could do this, you'd have two more teams with a lot more firepower.

This video gives you a little idea of what the training staff does:

I have to add Amar'e Stoudemire as an exception. He does have an injury history (knee problems, and most recently an eye problem). I'm not sure why, but he is the only exception I can think of. Hopefully the Suns training staff can work their magic on him for next season.

I would like to see how guys like Gilbert Arenas and TMac could do with the Suns. They would probably be much healthier and get their bodies in better condition for long careers. I'm not saying create a Suns dynasty, but I'm just thinking of the possibilities!

I want to see what you all think of this. Could All-Stars with injury problems thrive in Phoenix? Why or why not?